


Give Him Space (Redux)

by enogk07



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Breakup, M/M, grandparent death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 16:30:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enogk07/pseuds/enogk07
Summary: Patton's grandfather dies shortly after his breakup with Virgil, and he feels more alone than ever. Meanwhile, Virgil catches wind of the news and struggles to keep himself from reaching out. [REVISED REPOST OF A STORY THAT I WROTE EARLIER]





	Give Him Space (Redux)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Give Him Space](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14724401) by [enogk07](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enogk07/pseuds/enogk07). 



"I'm sorry, Patton. I know this is a lot to take in at once. But there's a lot that needs to get done and I wanted to make sure you knew as soon as possible."

"Yeah, of course. I understand. Thanks for letting me know."

"Alright. Call your mother as soon as you can, okay? I love you."

"Love you, too, Dad. Bye."

Patton slammed his thumb on the End Call button before his voice could betray him, and threw his phone on the bed. He sunk down in his desk chair as tears streamed down his face.

Nothing made any sense. Pop had been perfectly healthy when he came to the house only two weeks before during Christmas! People didn't just...die like that, did they?

He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes, and moved to pick up his phone again. He was frightened, and heartbroken, and he needed support. And there was only one person who knew how to give it to him.

On instinct, he went to his messages and opened his chat history with Virgil. But as soon as he did, he felt another sharp pain to his chest as he remembered the other reason he was upset--the reason he'd been crying before his dad even called him.

_'Sure, I'll meet you at six?'_

_'Yeah, sounds good!'_

A seemingly innocuous conversation, had the meeting in question not ended in their breaking up. But as it was, a simple comment during that dinner date became an argument, which turned into a fight, and the next thing they knew, both parties had left the restaurant single.

No. No, no, no, no, no. This was too much. He couldn't handle both of these things at once. He started hyperventilating and tugged at his hair. With no grandfather and no boyfriend, he was more alone than he'd ever been in his life.

But there had to be someone else he could talk to...right? He still had friends, after all. He picked up his phone again and scrolled through his contacts, imagining how each of them would reply if he gave them the news.

Logan?

_'I am sorry for your loss, Patton. Regardless, it is a necessary part of life. People's grandparents die all the time, and they still move on with their lives and manage to be productive members of society. There is no rational reason why you should be sitting in your room crying your eyes out like this.'_

Roman?

_'Now Patton, try not to be so down. Your grandfather is in a better place now. No sense in sitting here crying, right? Come now, I'm sure if we find some excellent attire to wear for the funeral it will be sure to lift your spirits.'_

...Remy?

_'Oh, buddy, it's okay. Look, I've got nothing going on tonight; how about I meet you here at six and we'll head out to the bar? Oh yeah, and wear the sickest black clothing you've got. We are going to celebrate your grandfather's life in style, my boy!'_

Oh, who was he kidding? He didn't have to text anyone to know that none of them would be able to help. He didn't want cold, hard facts, he didn't want to scour his closet, and he didn't want to go out and drink. He just wanted his grandfather back. ...And Virgil.

But his grandfather was dead, and Virgil hated his guts.

Patton gave himself a few minutes to cry it out, but then he stood up. His dad was right--there was a lot to do. Scheduling a flight home, emailing his professors to tell them he'd be out, probably writing a speech for the ceremony, too. There was simply no time right now to grieve his relationship or his grandfather.

\--

Later that same evening, Virgil was absent-mindedly scrolling through Facebook when he saw a post that hit him right in the gut. It was from Patton's brother Morgan.

_'Rest in Peace, Pop. I miss you already.'_

At first Virgil scrolled past it just like any other status, but then he widened his eyes as he realized what he just read. He scrolled back up and stared at the screen for a moment, and shakily put the phone down. He laid back down on the bed as he tried to figure out what to do next.

Should he say something? After all, Morgan hadn't done anything wrong. He was a good kid. He and Virgil had gotten pretty close during the last two years, in fact. ...Were they still allowed to be friends? Would it be offensive to Patton if they continued to stay in touch?

Virgil picked up the phone again and read through the comments that had been posted so far, trying to gather more information about what happened. He wasn't even sure if it had been sudden. Did its not being sudden change how he should respond? Maybe this had been going on a long time and Patton just hadn't said anything...

He sat up a little and started typing things in the comments section, trying to imagine how each option could come off.

_'RIP to your Pop. He seemed like a good guy when I met him.'_

No, no one would want to hear that. Virgil didn't really know Patton's grandfather, and it would seem trite to insinuate that he did.

_'I'm sorry, man. Hope your family's doing okay.'_

Your family. Yeah, right. That just made it obvious what Virgil was really trying to say. And he couldn't be passive-aggressive like that, especially not when Patton would be able to see it. He settled for a sad react and switched over to his own text history with Patton.

Again, he stared at the empty Add Message area and fiddled with his response until he had composed something viable.

_'Hey, I heard about your Pop. I'm so sorry. I hope you're doing okay--honest. I don't hate you. I know I made it seem that way last week, but...I do care about you. I'm sorry things didn't work out between us, but nothing will change the fact that you matter to me.'_

He read it over ten times or so, thumb hovering over the Send button...and then he chickened out. Instead he copied it, and went back to scroll through his other recent text conversations. He tried to think of someone who could help him not put his foot in his mouth, and ultimately opted to send it to Marco. _'Hey...'_ he prefaced it. _'Does this sound okay to send to Patton?'_

He pressed Send and put his phone back down, now crying openly. He stood up to get a drink of water, but right when he came back to his room the phone rang. He peered over and saw Marco's name on the screen.

Virgil collected himself as best he could, and then accepted the call. "Hey...you got my message?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did," came Marco's patient voice.

"So...what do you think? Does it sound good?"

Marco drew a long breath. "Okay, look. You know him better than I do; I can only advise you based on what you've told me. That said, based on the account you gave me of the fight from last week, I think sending any message in the first place would do more harm than good."

Virgil's stomach dropped. He had expected Marco to offer advice on how to phrase the text better, not to tell him to send nothing altogether. "You think?" he asked weakly.

"I mean, look, all the stuff about how you don't really hate him? He doesn't need that right now. I get that it's something you feel is important to tell him, and maybe it's a conversation you can have a couple of months or years down the line. But telling him that when it's only been a week and he's in the midst of a family tragedy? It's just not a good time, you know? I think you should just give him some space right now."

A lump formed in Virgil's throat. "I understand."

"I mean, it's your decision," Marco continued. "I'm just saying to put yourself in his shoes right now. You can send it if you think that's what's best, but you should ask yourself who you're really doing this for."

"Yeah," Virgil said again, and hung up. He felt stung.

The phone rang again almost immediately. Virgil saw Marco's name and declined the call.

A text alert popped up moments later. 'You alright?'

Then a few minutes later: 'You can talk to me...if you want.'

And a few minutes after that: 'I didn't mean to make you feel like you couldn't.'

Virgil just stared at the screen and turned his phone off. He buried his face in his pillow. He hated that things had ended the way they did, and that Patton was probably going to spend his whole life thinking Virgil hated him, and that he couldn't even reach out to Morgan, and that someone so special to him had to suffer like this in the first place. And he didn't want to talk to Marco about it.

He just wanted to cry.


End file.
